European Journal of Scientific Research

ISSN 1450-216X Vol.48 No.1 (2010), pp.155-159

© EuroJournals Publishing, Inc. 2010
http://www.eurojournals.com/ejsr.htm

The Development of Human Embryo in the Quran, Surah al-

Mu’minun (23): 12-14

Nurdeng Deuraseh
Associate Professor, Department of Government and Civilisational Studies
Faculty of Human Ecology, University Putra Malaysia (UPM)
43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
E-mail: nurdeng@putra.upm.edu.my

Noor Inayah Yaakub

Associate Professor, Graduate School of Business, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
E-mail: inayah@ukm.my

Abstract

This article highlights different stages of formation of the human embryo along with
the description of every stage of the embryonic development as mentioned in the Quran,
Surah al-Mu’minun. This study shows that God creates a child in a mother’s womb and
brings about the child chronological evolution to full life, while the parents only play an
instrumental role in this creative process. The Quran says: We have created man out of an
extraction of clay (the origin of semen). Then we turn it into semen and settle it in a firm
receptacle. We then turn semen into a clot (‘alaqah) (literally, something hanging, that is,
from the womb) which we then transmute into a lump (mudghah). We then create bones
which we clothe with flesh. Then, we transmute it into a new mode (of ensoulment)-blessed
be then Allah, the best of creators. (Al-Quran, Surah (Chapter) Al-Mu’minun (23): 12-14,
see also Al-Hajj (22): 5).
There are four different stages of formation of the human embryo in mother's womb as described in
Surah al-Mu’minun that: “We have created man out of an extraction of clay (the origin of semen).
Then we turn it into semen and settle it in a firm receptacle. We then turn semen into a clot (‘alaqah)
(literally, something hanging, that is, from the womb) which we then transmute into a lump
(mudghah). We then create bones which we clothe with flesh. Then, we transmute it into a new mode
(of ensoulment)-blessed be then Allah, the best of creators.” These verses of the Qur'an clearly
mentioned that at the first stage, man was formed from components contained in clay (sulalatin min
tin). Most Mufassirun of the Qur’an understand the creation of man out of ‘an extraction of clay’ as
referring specifically to Adam (a.s). (Al-Qurtubi, n.d, 12: 109; al-Tabari, 1954, 18: 11-17; al-Baghdadi,
1988, 247). Other Mufassirun entertain the possibility that Allah (s.w.t) might be referring to man’s
body that consists of various chemical components, such as iron, phosphorus, carbon, etc. These
chemical components are also found in clay. This is why Maurice Bucaille translates sulalah as
‘quintessence’, a thing extracted from another thing. (Maurice Bucaille, 1982, repr. 1989, 173-4). He
emphasizes that ‘quintessence of clay’ refers to the various chemical components which constitute
clay, extracted from ma’ (water), which in term of weights is the main element and the origin of all
The Development of Human Embryo in the Quran, Surah al-Mu’minun (23): 12-14 156

life.1 What does water (al-ma’ ) mean? al-ma’ has been variously interpreted. In order to gain a better
meaning of the word, we need to consider two additional verses, which deal with the notion of the
aquatic origin of life. Allah (s.w.t) says: “And God has created every animal from water.” (The Holy
Quran, Surah Al-Nur (24):45). Also, “We made from water every living thing.” (The Holy Quran, Al-
Anbiya’ (21):30). From these verses and to what has been discussed, water is the basic ingredient, the
major component without which no living organism could originate and survive.
The second stage of man’s creation, as mentioned in surah al-mu’minun, is the development of
the diminutive quantity nutfah. In this verse, the Qur’an does not directly mention that the formation of
a child comes from the semen of both the male and the female. But in surah al-insan, verse 2, Allah
(s.w.t) says: “Verily, we have created man from a drop of mingled liquids (nutfat amshaj).” The
commentators of the Holy Qur’an, since the time of Ibn Abbas (r.a), the cousin of the Prophet (s.a.w),
stated clearly that the word nutfah amshaj is the fluid of male and female intermingled which
undergoes many stages of evolution. Many modern researchers interpret nutfa as zygote formed by the
union of a true mixture of the sperm and ovum. However, Aristotle (d. 322 B.C) maintained that only
the male produces semen, and that the male semen is the active form. The female ovum provides the
passive element for fertilization. His theory was very close to the popular and biblical idea that the
male implants the seed in the female, just as the farmer plants seeds in the soil. This idea implies the
notion that the seed already possess its essential characteristics, and only needs a place to mature after
fertilization. This ill-conceived idea became greatly influential and widespread during the medieval
era, to the extent that even Muslim philosophers, scientists, and medical practitioners subscribed to this
preposterous notion.2
In order to refute Aristotle’s aforementioned untenable theory of the creation of man, Ibn al-
Qayyim (d.750/1350) used the traditions of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) as evidence.3 In his Kitab al-
Tibyan fi Aqsam al-Qur’an, he quotes the following ahadith, the first hadith is reported by ‘A’ishah
(r.a) and ’Umm Salma (r.a), two wives of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w), who asked the Prophet the same
question, should a woman wash (her clothes after nocturnal emission (idha ’ihtalamat)?”4 The Prophet
(s.a.w) said that she should if there is a trace of seminal fluid. They asked again “Do women have
nocturnal emissions?”, The Prophet reported, “How else do their children resemble them?”. (Fu’ad
Abd al-Baqi, 1985). The second hadith, which Ibn al-Qayyim (d. 750/1350) mentions in his book
Tibyan fi Aqsam al-Qur’an, states that Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) said “Do you think that there is any
other reason for the resemblance?”. Immediately, after mentioning the ahadith, Ibn al-Qayyim raised
scientific proof by postulating that if women do not have semen, then their children would not look like
them. The male semen alone does not generate a child. This is because, conception only occurs upon
the mixture of male sperm with another equivalent ovum from the female. Moreover, Ibn al-Qayyim,
supports his stand by quoting another tradition of the Prophet (s.a.w) who said: “when her ovum
dominates the man’s semen the child (boy) will look like her brothers and when the man’s semen

1
The Qur’an speaks of human beings as been created from water. Allah (s.w.t) says: “It is He who has created man from
water” (Al-Furqan (25):54).
2
For discussions of Aristotle’s and Galen’s views concerning human conception, see A. Preus, “Galen’s Criticism of
Aristotle’s Conception Theory,” Journal of the History of Biology 10 (1977), 65-85; Basim F. Musallam, Sex and Society
in Islam (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983), 46-59; Fazlur Rahman, Health and Medicine in Islamic
Tradition (New York: Crossroad Publishing Company, 1989; repr. Kuala Lumpur: S. Abdul Majeed & Co, 1993), 111-
112, (page reference is to the reprint edition).
3
It is notable to highlight that Muslim scholars equally accept the Qur’an as a Book of Knowledge. It is understandable
that Muslims look first to the Qur’an for guidance, in order to understand, or to solve certain problems in any age, any
time, and in any part of the world. If one cannot find the direct answer from the Qur’an, one has to refer to the Sunnah of
Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w).
4
For the term Ihtilam, see E.W. Lane, Arabic English Lexicon, (Cambridge: Islamic Texts Society, 1984), 2: 263, s.v.
hulm and Ihtilam. About the condition necessary for a nocturnal emission, many Muslim physicians including Ibn al-
Jazzar state that it only occurs in the case of a long sleep. For an extensive discussion, see Ibn al-Jazzar, Ibn al-Jazzar on
Sexual Diseases and Their Treatment, ed. and trans. Gerrit Boss (London: Kegan Paul International, 1997), Chapter 4.
157 Nurdeng Deuraseh and Noor Inayah Yaakub

dominates her ovum the child (boy) will resemble his brothers.” (Ibn al-Qayyim, 1994, 288-9; al-
Baghdadi, 1988, 247-8; B.F. Musallam, 50).5
From nutfah, then it becomes ‘alaqah. When the semen enters the womb, it forms a ball-like
structure, which remains for six days before it attaches itself to the womb. It should be noted that the
word ‘alaqah in the Qur’an has at least two meanings. First, it is something that clings or attaches
itself to something else which refers to the process of clinging, the attachment and the implantation of
the blastocyst in the compact layer of the endometrium. The second meaning of ‘alaqah refers to a
leech or bloodsucker. The human embryo clings to the endometrium of the uterus, in the same way that
a leech clings to the skin. In the same manner as the leech derives blood from the host, the human
embryo derives blood (nutrition) from pregnant endometrium. (Ibrahim B. Syed, 1989, 125;
Mohammed Ali Albar, 1992, 63-70).
‘Alaqah then evolves into a lump, mudghah. If one looks at a four weeks old human embryo, it
looks like a chewed lump of flesh. This chewed appearance results from the somites, which resemble
teeth marks. The somites are the bases from which the greater part of the skeleton and musculature
develops. After the mentioned stages, al-Qur’an declares: “Then we made out of the chewed lump,
bones, and clothed the bones with flesh”. The last stage is the infusion of the soul to the fetus and it
becomes a real “person” in the legal sense. Many Muslim scholars, upon reliance on Prophetic
traditions conclude that, the first 120 days cover three 40 day stages: the nutfah (a drop of sperm), the
‘alaqah ( a blood clot), and the mudghah ( a little lump of flesh). Thus, accordingly, such an infusion
of the soul occurs after 120 days of pregnancy in which the angel responsible for ensoulment delivers
the spirit into the human embryo. This scientific idea is derived from the following hadith: “Each of
you is constituted in your mother’s womb for forty days as a nutfah, then it becomes a ‘alaqah for an
equal period, then a mudghah for another equal period, then the angel is sent, and he breathes the soul
into it”. (Ibn al-Qayyim, 1994, 297; al-Baghdadi, 1988, 247). The stages of development which the
Qur’an and the hadith established for believers do not contradict with Galen’s scientific account. In De
Semine, for example, Galen (d. 200 C.E) spoke of four periods in the formation of the embryo: 1) as
seminal matter; 2) as a bloody form (still without flesh); 3) the fetus acquires flesh and solidity (the
heart, liver, and brain are well defined, and the limbs begin formation); and finally 4) all the organs
attain their full perfection and the fetus is quickened. (B. F. Musallam, 1983, 54).

Conclusion
Al-Quran in Surah al-Mu’minun (23): 12-14 tells us about the creation of a child in a mother’s womb
and its chronological evolution to full life. The parents only play an instrumental role in this creative
process. During this process especially when the child is shaped after 120 days, Islam regards the fetus,
in this condition, as a human being, so that the fetus should be granted a share and the right of
inheritance, which will be enforced upon the child’s delivery.

5
Perhaps the best modern treatment of the meaning of ‘alaq in the light of the Holy Qur’an is Moor, K.L., “A Scientist’s
Interpretation of references to Embryology in the Qur’an,” Journal of Islamic Medical Association 18(1986): 15-17; and
Mohammed Ali AlBar, “`Alak,” Islamic World Medical Journal 2 (1986): 54-56.
The Development of Human Embryo in the Quran, Surah al-Mu’minun (23): 12-14 158

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